Welcome Back
by lonewolfe13
Summary: Wolfe-13 and Baldr are two Guardians arisen in Remnant to fight the Darkness. They find themselves surrounded on all sides by Guardians and other powers within this fight vying for their strength. These two must pick sides, pick up arms, and put own all those that stand in their way. If only every story was that cut and dry. Rated M for language and a fair share of violence.
1. Running with the Wovles

**AN:** This is a rewrite of my original Destiny and RWBY crossover. I began the original before The Taken King was released and decided to rewrite many of the aspects and change the storyline. Much deliberation went into the story including who allies with who and how to meld the two worlds of Destiny and RWBY into one "seamless" universe. Basically almost all the characters from both universes will make an appearance and many have taken new jobs within this story.

Also a major shout-out to my beta reader and collaborator The Assassin's Mentor. One of the first authors I contacted on here and this is my first story to be written with his help and in all honesty his motivation. Some of his characters will play big roles in later chapters but I shall not spoil anything here.

 **Diclaimer** \- I do not own RWBY nor Destiny. They are the property of Rooster Teeth and Bungie, respectively.

* * *

 _Running with the Wolves_

"Quite frankly my dear, I don't give a damn. The dear Prince is a pompous fool and I believe it would be in the Queen's best interests to not listen to him." Cinder was seated on a couch below the Tower Hanger arguing with her teammates, more specifically Emerald. Neo and Mercury stood on either side of the nearby table inspecting their weapons. "The only thing Uldren has working in his favor is that he is the brother of the Queen. That is how he gained his position among her councilors and also Master of Crows."

"He is skeptical. He does not trust the other Guardians, nor for the most part us, for good reason. The Speaker seeks to control the fights against the Darkness, that means he seeks to control the Reef." Emerald was starting to get upset, her fists clenching as she began pacing in front of the furnace. "He has the Reef's best interests at heart, whether you believe that or not."

"No, he is looking to overthrow his sister. Become the most trusted that way no one suspects you to betray them." Cinder was starting to get angry herself, flames began curling about her hair and fingers. "The Awoken are a matriarchal society. Being born into that is an extremely difficult burden for him, like being Faunus centuries ago before the Golden Age. He will never rise to King himself unless he overthrows his sister and betrays the Reef to our enemies."

"You would be tried for treason if you were Reef born! Goodness Cinder, have you fallen that low?" Emerald had stopped and was now staring at the Awoken woman now engulfed in flames sitting before her. Neo and Mercury looked to where the two were arguing surprised to hear Cinder say such things.

"I think you guys should take a break and blow off some steam." Mercury grabbed his shotgun from the table behind him and walked back to the two Awoken. "Come on. Let's go patrol for a while. Cayde and Zavala called us here because some dangerous Fallen out to the Mistral Dead Zone. I figured we could go because the regular patrols are getting slaughtered. I don't like spending too much time here with the Guardians watching us warily." Mercury wrapped his metallic arm about Emerald's waist and began to slowly pull her out of the lounge.

"Come on Cinderelly, let's go!" Neo hopped over the table and eagerly grabbed Cinder's arm and began pulling her up. "Gotta help them Cinderelly. Got no time to dilly-dally. We've got to get a going!" Neo's childish antics were amplified by her stature. Standing at barely five feet the short Exo had created a wig that she wore when the group were in the Tower or the City. Bouncing in front of the older woman brought a smile to Cinder's face.

"Okay Neo, let's go." Cinder rose and followed the rest of her team up the stairs, only to find them stopped looking at a pair of strange Ghosts before them. "What is this about little ones?" Cinder studied the small machine before her. The Ghosts were very of strange design, one with jet black wing patterns forming the exoskeleton and the other with a purple shell and beautiful gold designs and most curiously, a small purple and gold striped tail.

"Madame Cinder, we ask that you allow us to accompany you to the Mistral Dead Zone to hunt for new Guardians." The black winged Ghost had a deeper voice than most other Ghosts, almost reminiscent of the old actors and narrators in the Golden Age cinematics the Cryptarchs had uncovered.

"Why seek us out?" Mercury stepped forward and looked shrewdly down at the Ghosts hovering before him, his dark gray eyes examining them.

"We admire you. Not to mention, we are not the same as the Ghosts. We seek not remains to be reborn into the Light for the first time. Our original Guardians were sent out centuries ago to a small Mistral town to aid fugitives. When the battle turned for the worst, they ordered us to abandon them and they would return to find us." The second Wraith chimed in at this point, speaking in a distinctly female voice, not unlike the old AI used by Golden Age super soldiers in their armors.

"Well, we are heading out to the Dead Zone. Hitch a ride with one of us and see if there is anything to find." Cinder addressed the two Ghosts before her group. Walking past Mercury and the rest, she hopped the hanger railing and approached her ship in the landing bay, a mahogany colored Ceres Galliot strike craft. In the next few stalls, her companions' ships sat waiting for their pilots. Emerald approached her custom Regulus ship, the Little Light, and Mercury boarded his blockade runner bedecked in the House of King's colors. Neo skipped toward her newly completed Phaeton lightning craft, the Manus Celer Dei. As one of the fastest and most elusive Hunters in the history of the City, aside from the infamous speed of the gunsmith's prodigy, and the fact that the Rogues were selected for dangerous experiments, she was given the prototype ship capable of breaking light speed thanks to technology utilizing newly discovered and controlled tachyonic particles.

Boarding her ship, Cinder watched the two Ghosts float past her and study the control panel. Summoning her own Ghost, she allowed Jardis to float to her brethren while Cinder settled into the seat and closed her landing door. "Jardis, where are the Grimm presently?" Cinder addressed her Ghost, encased in what appeared to be icicles giving her a intimidating visage for a small being, or whatever the Ghosts were classified as.

"It would appear that Aslan is currently roaming Forever Fall Forest with the others. According to what I can read, they are hunting a pack of Dregs that are evidently scouting around the wall." Jardis floated to the navigation table followed by Cinder, who punched a button on the side and summoned the holographic map of the planets, the moon, and the Reef. Tapping the Remnant globe at the position where the Emerald Forest was located, the globe expanded until she saw the signatures of her allies' Grimm gathered in a clearing. "I will alert the others. Shall I begin launch procedures?"

"Initiate launch. Let Penny know of our departure." Cinder returned to her seat after selecting the position of the Grimm and inputing the flight commands into the ship. She sat and leaned back against one arm of the chair with her head resting on one hand while she drummed her fingers on the other arm. Cinder was agitated and she did not know why. Perhaps the argument with Emerald had struck her even deeper than she anticipated. She did know that what she was proposing was to be considered traitorous, but she did not trust Prince Uldren and she wished the Queen would realize.

"Tell you guys what. If we do manage to find some out here, I will buy everyone a round at the bar." Mercury spoke up across the ships comms.

"Smart move, considering you are guaranteed to buy only two drinks for us Awoken." Emerald replied. "Unless you buy Neo a nice can of oil, and if the newborns are organic."

"EMY! You know us. We can take our liquor. We are not completely robotic. I just wish I could remember my human body. Or maybe I was Awoken. OR MAYBE! I was a pixie who the humans caught and put into this body!" Neo began jabbering over the comms. "Maybe I was even an Ahamkara, which means you better treat me nicely. Or I could have been a Grimm who was given this body as an experiment!"

"Neo, I highly doubt you were any of those things. I think you were a little girl who went some place you weren't supposed to be and ended up in that body." Cinder smiled. Her little companion was quite fun to be around but like all Exos, a complete enigma when it came to the origins.

While the Exos were originally built as robotic soldiers, something happened during the Collapse that gave them sentience. Thanks to the work of Master Rahool and his Tower replacement, Madame Schnee, along with a squad of Exo thanatonauts they were able to discover that the Exos who can wield the Traveler's Light were at least partially organic. Cyborg was the best explanation for the Exos who contained several vital organs: including a beating heart, a brain with electronic implants, working stomach and lungs. Many of the other organs had been replaced by robotic parts that served as nerves and organs like the liver or intestines. this allowed the Exos the freedom to do as their organic brothers and sisters like eat and drink, or even more personal experiences like the sexual intercourse without the burden of producing offspring.

"Alrighty folks! Happy hunting!" Penny's clear chipper voice sounded on the comm and the four ships rose from the ground and shot from the hanger bay. Cinder performed a quick Immelmann Turn as she approached the Traveler allowing her to dart back over the Tower and off over Forever Fall Forest. Her companions swerved to the right and flew back over the Tower, Neo getting as close as she possibly could on her knife edge so she could slip between the Tower's antennae.

Neo giggled madly and her Ghost, March, appeared and shook his body at the childish behavior. "I do wish you would not be so reckless with your life. While I am responsible to resurrecting you, I may refuse it if you are doing it with such indiscretion." Neo giggled again and Dinah sighed. He drifted over to the control panel and set the ship to follow closely to Cinder's contrails.

As the group flew over the warm red canopies of the forest, Cinder slowed her ship to a stop over the ruins in the northern section of the forest. Transmatting herself to the ground before the ruins, she began walking toward the small pack of Grimm greedily eating the bodies on the ground. As she approached, a large jet black lion Grimm turned from the feast and approached her. The Grimm dwarfed Cinder, and it lowered it's bony head to Cinder's open hand. She began petting the Grimm as her companions' Grimm began working their way toward their respective partners.

" _Greetings Cinder_." The voice spoke in her head, but the large Grimm was the source. " _Jardis told me that we are headed for Mistral." Cinder nodded. "Then let us get going._ " The great lion, a Nemeaus, and Cinder then dissolved and reappeared inside the ship, the Grimm curling up behind the pilot's seat. Cinder waved her hand at her Ghost and set herself in her chair. The engines fired and the ship darted up into the clouds. " _Something is bothering you Cinder. Care to enlighten me?_ " Cinder stared out the cockpit window as her ship entered low orbit before sighing.

"I have a bad feeling about Prince Uldren. I fear he may be hiding some evil from us. The Queen is in danger, and I know not how to approach her with this." Cinder began drumming her fingers against the armrest again, agitated.

" _Perhaps it would be best to not say anything and simply do what you can without the Queen's permission._ " Aslan's deep voice echoed in her head. " _I may not be your species, but I can read them. When we return to the Reef, I shall evaluate him if you wish._ " Cinder nodded her assent and leaned her head back. Aslan's head lowered back to his front paws and he yawned widely.

"Don't fall asleep big guy. We shall be there in a few minutes." Cinder smiled a small smile as she pulled a scroll from the armrest and returned to her chess game. While the Guardians generally did not trust the Rogues such as herself, she did regularly engage in debates with some of the Warlock Orders in the Tower. This chess game was between her and the Warlock Vanguard, Ozpin. Studying the board, she noticed large selections of moves she could make with her pieces, until she noticed a risky move she knew Ozpin would not expect. Moving her Queen diagonally to the left, she took one of Ozpin's pawns. As expected, Ozpin's bishop moved to take the Queen, which she quickly followed with a pawn to take the bishop. A greedy wicked smile curved her lips as she watched Ozpin move his king back to a seemingly safe position. She slid on of her rooks two spaces to the right, successfully trapping the King in his place. Pulling up a bubble, she typed in the words 'Checkmate…again' and set the scroll in her lap.

"We have reached the landing zone." Jardis's clear voice announced as she brought the ship to a hover several yards above the ground. Cinder stood from her chair and opened the rear hatch. Behind her ship, the others' ships came to a halt and the hatches opened to reveal the Rogues and their Grimm companions. They jumped from the ships and landed in the soft dirt. The two Ghosts accompanying the group appeared behind Cinder and began sweeping over the ground leading into the ruins they disembarked near.

"Little ones." Cinder spoke to the two machines drifting away from them. "If you wish to keep your escort, you should stick close to us. We are seeking a Wolf Pack that is rumored to be holed up here." The two orbs bobbed their heads and returned to the group as the Rogues drew their weapons and began down the ridge into town. Neo's Grimm, a much smaller Nemeaus without a mane and a slim body and tail, quietly sprinted down the street among the shadows of the buildings. Neo and Emerald climbed to the rooftops and began sneaking their way along the street, glancing into the houses through the collapsed roofs. Cinder and Mercury walked down the street with the rest of the Grimm and the two Ghosts, which were scanning bodies along the route.

The group continued this way for a long time, until they found themselves in the center of town. The town square consisted of two rows of storefronts, a large bank and a massive cathedral creating the square. In the center, a large statue of a man holding a set of scales in his right hand and a ball of flame in his left. The plaque on the base, while very difficult to read, said "The fire of God will judge us." Cinder stood back and scowled up at the statue, noting something she had overlooked. While she thought the banners hanging from the statue were from when the town still thrived before the Collapse, she saw a blue tattered strip with the House of Wolves insignia on it.

"Neo. Emerald. Keep your eyes open. We have a Wolf banner here." Cinder raised her fusion rifle to her shoulder and began scouting the storefronts around them.

"We have something as well!" The deep voiced Ghost called from the entrance to the cathedral. Cinder walked toward them although her eyes kept flitting around the square. As she came to the Ghosts, she saw what they were looking at, two human figures on the ground, one the obvious metallic body of an Exo and the other a tall slim skeleton that made Cinder think it was to an Awoken. "These two are full of the familiar power. I was the Ghost of the Exo and my companion was the protector of the Awoken."

Mercury and Cinder turned to keep watch while the two Ghosts worked on reconstructing the beings on the ground. A groan behind the two made them turn to look down at the newly re-arisen soldiers. The Awoken sat in the basic Hunter field-weave without his helmet and ran a hand over his face. As he looked up, Cinder noticed his skin was the same royal purple hers was, his face was very angular almost elfish and fluorescent neon green eyes. His hair was shaved along both sides and the hair on top of his head was very long and swept back, black as the Ghost that had just revived his partner. Around his eyes were black markings, reminding Cinder strongly of the wild cats that inhabited the Kingdoms of Remnant prior to the Collapse.

The Exo sat with his arms resting on his knees and his head back, studying the sky. His faceplate resembled a humans face with plates representing the cheek bones and an empty space showing the blue light of his mouth. His faceplate was a dark black color, but his eyes shown with a brilliant cyan color. White paint had been splattered across his face like warpaint, and he had a crown of short blood red thorn like protrusions, encircling the crown of his metallic head. Something that surprised the onlookers, two metal wolf-like ears were present on his head as well, just above the ring. After staring at the sky for several seconds, he looked around and let his eyes rest upon Cinder. His mouth began to fall open as he stared at her face

"Madeleine?!" He jumped to his feet and approached Cinder, standing before her and placing his hands upon her shoulders. Cinder stiffened at his touch and he must have felt the tension appear in her shoulders as he let her go. He looked down at himself in his tunic and synthetic polymer armor. "Apologies ma'am." He turned to the building and got a look at himself in the metal plaque beside the door. Looking himself over, he turned back to the others. "Am I a machine?"

"Exo, technically." Mercury started in. Removing his own helmet, he revealed his gray faceplate and black features. "You and I are pretty similar."

"What are your names?" Cinder spoke tersely to the newborns and got their attentions.

"Baldr." The Awoken Hunter replied. "Baldr Venj." He paused and looked at his Exo companion. "How do I know that?"

"Some memories resurface immediately when you resurrect. Others will not make them selves evident for some time, even years." The female Wraith spoke up, addressing her partner.

"Wolfe-13." The Exo replied and ran his hand over his head, pausing and feeling his ears. "Faunus machine?" The others nodded, just as surprised as he was.

"There must have been more negative effects than we previously believed." The jet black robot flew about the head of his Guardian and scanned him briefly. "Do either of you remember our names?"

"Yeah, you are Corvus right? My Ghost?! It's been a while!" Wolfe happily grabbed the little flying machine and ran a finger along the designs. "I remember carving these after discovering the ebony metal on one of Saturn's moons."

"Yes, Titan to be exact. After our first scouting expedition beyond the wreckage that was then being called the Reef." Corvus nodded his entire body in agreement.

"Sorry to cut in, but we have trouble!" Emerald's voice announced her arrival and she sprinted across the square. A roar from the far end of the square drew their attentions to a pack of Fallen staring at the Rogues.

"Formalities later. You two! Take a gun and get ready for a fight!" Cinder spoke as she leveled her Vex Mythoclast before her at the enemies. "Prove yourself and then we will talk."

Standing above the group, two slender figures, a shrouded Exo and a masked Awoken, crouched on the top of the cathedrals arches watching the newborns. "This shall be interesting." The Exo quietly confided in her partner, who nodded silently.

* * *

 **AN:** So this is chapter one. I kept the majority of the story but included several things. First off, Baldr and Wolfe are old Guardians from several centuries before the current setting and they order their Ghosts to abandon them and only return with proper protection if they did not survive. When they were still young Guardians, the powers of Stromcallers and Nightstalkers were much more prevalent.

Second, many RWBY characters are vendors within the Tower acting as apprentices or successors. Penny is the Shipwright while Holliday oversees and competes in the SRL full time. Ozpin and two other RWBY characters have also joined the ranks of the Vanguards allowing the old mentors we know and love to seek excitement in their own retirement.

While this will generally be focused around the six characters introduced so far, I will have some interactions with the fireteam of The Assassin's Mentor as thanks for collaborating with me. I will head the writing while he helps me and he has agreed to Beta for me. This will mostly be my story but his Guardians will follow his direction.

As for other questions and conspiracies I have addressed that float about the Destiny universe (mainly Exos), this will contain my own personal beliefs of how things happen or will be revealed. There will be many RWBY characters brought in and will mix with the Destiny characters or replace them. As I did state before, I will be playing around with various powers in the system, like the Nine and Rasputin as well as the Wanderer, a power of my own invention, and how they will interact with one another.


	2. Reincarnation

**AN:** This is a chapter of slight exposition but mostly battle. Note that there are some recognizable abilities but many of them are changed somewhat for individuality's sake. Some provide bonuses but other seek mostly difference from the norm.

* * *

 _Reincarnation_

Baldr and Wolfe jumped to their feet, Baldr standing at a lean but muscular seven feet, and Wolfe coming up barely to his shoulder, just shy of six feet. Cinder held out her hand and summoned Jardis, who floated up into the air along with the other Ghosts. Once they reached a level of the rooftops, they expanded and began an eerie song.

 **[Installation 04]**

The music began with a chorus of male vocals that got progressively louder. The two packs stared each other down across the square. The Wolf Baron stood proudly with his vandals at his side, scorch cannon resting upon his shoulder. Cinder stared back at the beast, matching the hatred and ferocity of the eyes. The music reached a crescendo and the violins began with Aslan, the large black lion drew himself up and roared his deafening roar, causing the two sides to launch at each other.

Cinder drew her Vestian Dynasty side arm and threw it at Wolfe, who caught it and started at the Fallen, Baldr close behind with Mercury's. The two stopped at the base of the statue and slid into cover, firing blindly around the side. The strange sound of the small sidearm reminded Wolfe strongly of small blaster pistols in the movie he used to watch growing up. Poking his head around the side, he noticed a small shimmer on a rooftop behind the aliens.

Neo took this opportunity to join the battle herself by launching her invisible body off the rooftop and directly onto the back of one of the Scorch Captains. Upon landing, she buried a two foot long estoc into the base of the neck of the creature she was piggy-backing, piercing several vital organs before a surge of Arc energy flowed from her hands through the alien. The Captain fell to the ground twitching as Neo ripped the blunt blade from it and lunged for a nearby Vandal. Baldr took this opportunity to leap from cover and snatch up the shoulder mounted artillery. Leaping into the air, he spun around and launched the energy shell at the remaining enemies. The shell exploded in a flurry of Solar energy and vaporized the remaining Fallen. Landing, Baldr took the cannon off his shoulder and held it in front of him in admiration.

"This is a beaute! What wouldn't I give to have had this back in the beginning of the Reef alliances with the Earthlings. I don't think I would have died had I had this baby in my arsenal." Baldr gave the hefty cannon a light toss and refitted it to his shoulder, turning back to see the other Rogues. Wolfe had scooped up Baldr dropped pistol and weighed the two in his hands. Cinder looked warily at the sky and called.

"We aren't out of this yet. We haven't even found the Baron yet." A booming report echoed around the square and Cinder smiled sinisterly. "Here is the next squad. Baldr, fire the cannon below the deployment doors but keep your finger on the trigger. When I give the word, release the trigger."

"Like moths drawn to the flame, the beasts line up like sheep for the slaughter." Wolfe spoke grimly and held both sidearms at arms length and took up a combat stance, waiting for the Fallen to drop. The insect like aliens slid down to the end of their ramps and jumped to the ground. As the squad fell, a servitor lagging behind the rest, Cinder spoke.

"Release!" Cinder ordered to Baldr. Baldr obliged and took his finger from the trigger and watched as the ever growing ball of energy exploded in a burst of violent power. The aliens without shields were immediately consumed in the resulting fireball and the two captains lost their shields. Wolfe took the opportunity to run forward, both guns blazing and slide between the legs of the Captains to turn and leap onto its back. Looping one arm around the neck of the alien, Wolfe used his other pistol to fire repeatedly into the back of its head, killing it outright. The other Captain was about to leap on Wolfe but was thrown to the side as Mercury did a powerful roundhouse kick to its chest and sent it through a broken wall, bringing the store down on top of it, burying it.

"Damn." Wolfe rose to his feet shakily and looked over at his fellow Exo. Mercury merely laughed and raised his shotgun, waiting for the next drop. He didn't have to wait long before another booming report sounded and another blue skiff materialized above the statue. Wolfe took a readying stance before feeling a strange surge of power coursing through his body. Glancing over, he noticed Baldr staring at a strange purple glow emanating from his left hand. As the Fallen began to drop, everything seemed to fade from Wolfe's senses as he embraced his newly rediscovered power.

 **[Feeling Good - Avicii]**

Upon seeing the first of the Fallen land, Baldr summoned a strange bow from thin air, made entirely of purple Void Light. Drawing back the bowstring, Baldr released the notched arrow and let it fly at the closest Servitor. The Servitor ripped apart and gravity tethers connected the point the arrow struck and the rest of the Fallen.

Wolfe, then burst forth in a flurry of Arc lightning as a bolt of lightning ripped from the sky and struck him. The energy caused a magnetic shift in Wolfe and he began levitating a foot from the ground. Surging forward, Wolfe threw out his arms and two thick streams of lightning flowed from his arms and engulfed the ensnared Fallen. In a matter of seconds the aliens fell to the ground, dead, with their bodies still twitching as the Arc energy coursed through their corpses. Only one Servitor remained which Emerald took care of in a flurry of Golden Gun shots from two small revolvers burning with Solar energy.

Wolfe and Baldr both dropped to the ground in an attempt to recuperate from the sudden energy output both newborns just exerted upon themselves. Cinder quickly jogged over to them followed by Mercury, while the Grimm, Neo, and Emerald kept a lookout. Mercury laughed and clapped Wolfe on the shoulder, while Cinder crouched before the two of them and stared intently at them.

"That was incredible!" Mercury drew back and laughed again. "All hail the Sith Lord!" Mercury walked away and back to the girls and waited for the next group of Fallen.

"You two do realize that no one has seen those powers present in new hosts in over seven centuries. You two were legends of those abilities back during the first days of the Ghosts." Cinder stated matter of factly at the two exhausted soldiers at her feet. "Maybe you can be great assets to our endevours." Cinder straightened again and looked questioningly to the sky. "Still waiting on the rest of the Fallen." To answer her, a report sounded and yet another Skiff appeared above them. Wolfe and Baldr began struggling to their feet but Cinder placed a foot on Wolfe's chest telling the two, "Stay down, take a gun and do what you can from their. We don't want you killing yourselves." A small collection of guns dropped to the ground as Cinder's strike craft dropped a payload before flying off again. Wolfe grabbed a bronze hand cannon while Wolfe grabbed a blue, Fallen-esque, scout rifle.

The Fallen jumped from their Skiff to the ground, returning the fire of the Guardians. Emerald had her Hawkmoon firing as fast as she could pull the trigger, the beautiful sound of the hand cannon's reports echoing clearly around the square. Mercury sprinted through the ranks of the Fallen, his Fourth Horseman roaring with blue fire. Neo seemed to dance through the ranks, her now shorter double edged blade flashing with electric energy as it sunk repeatedly into the flesh of the aliens around her. Cinder stood over the newest Rogues, her Mythoclast spitting the red energy beams common to Solar fusion rifles; as the two on the ground fired repeatedly into the fray. Wolfe's hand cannon firing exploding rounds, dropping the Dregs faster than they could dart to cover. Baldr's scout rifle was firing much faster as he was able to accurately land headshots on the Vandals fast enough to transmit another round back into his magazine.

However fast the Guardians fired their guns into the ranks of the Fallen, or their Grimm allies rip through the flesh of the aliens, more Fallen Skiffs would jump from low orbit and deploy their troops.

"This isn't a normal patrol!" Emerald shouted over the gunfire.

"No shit Sherlock!" Mercury hollered back, emptying all five shells into the closest Captain, taking off its head with the final round.

"This is a grudge attack after capture of Skolas and the death of most of the Queenbreakers." Cinder replied quietly. "This may have been more than we were relayed. Could be helpful to get some back up from some of the allies."

"We can take them!" Emerald rounded indignantly on Cinder and glowered at the fierce woman. "We need to prove that we can get along without the help of the Tower!"

"Without the Tower and the other Guardians, no one would have survived the last Wolf uprising. We need them and they need us. The Vanguard understand that at the very least." Cinder strode over to Emerald, removing her helmet, and stared fiercely at the still masked Hunter. "I am putting out the call to the few we can trust to ally with us." Turning from Emerald, she waved her off and returned to her comrades and called Jardis down. "Put in distress call to Fireteam Coalition and MC. Tell them our coordinates and to get here ASAP."

Just as Cinder relayed her message, a loud screech rent the air and caused everybody to look up. What appeared to be a small Nevermore was diving at great speeds out of the clouds toward the Skiff. The wings sprouted from the beast of the black predator and a spout of white ice launched toward the gun turrets, freezing them and rendering them useless. The creature landed on a nearby roof top and roared again, this time spitting fire at the Fallen amassed around the statue. Only then did they realize this was the infamous Dovah Grimm that had been believed extinct for over three millennia.

Another new sound began to grow louder as a large jet black gorse creature with two large white horns, jet black feathered wings, and a blood red mane, studded with a ridge of white bones, galloped into the skirmish and speared the nearest Vandal. The horned pegasus cantered over to Baldr and lowered its head to allow Baldr to scramble up to sit between its shoulder blades. The Grimm then leapt back into battle allowing Baldr to fire at more Fallen. The tide of the battle began to change. The Corsairs, with new Grimm allies were gaining more advantages and using those to stem the flow of Fallen.

It was then that the whine of ship engines began to grow louder and louder. The first ship to streak through the sky was a bright blood red Phaeton class jumpship with wing mounted lasers ripping through the Fallen on its strafe. As the ship disappeared over the shops, a lone Titan in dark green armor materialized on the rooftop with a grey scout rifle in his hands. Waving one hand in the direction of Cinder, he brought his rifle to bear and began firing into the crowd below. The gun shots only served to add to the din of the battle raging in the square. The Rogues held a considerable advantage at this point and had pushed the Fallen back into a corner. The final Skiff dropped into their air space above the square and dropped the last round of Vandals, accompanied by the Alpha, Dremaksis Winter-Bane. Just before the last Skiff jumped back to Orbit, a hail of high explosive rockets shredded its hull and the armored rounds of a minigun caused the exposed engine to explode.

The burning wreck fell to the ground and over the top of the cathedral, two Reef blockade runners and the infamous Aspect of Glass hovered low to the ground. Three Guardians dropped from their ships and ran to the base of the statue.

"Hail to the Bane of the Speaker!" The Titan, Diana, called from cover to the Rogues. "Good to see that you guys trust us."

"We trust you to not leave us for dead. One word from us and you are banned from the Queen's territory. No one else has her trust like us in the Last City." Cinder called back, slowly advancing with Wolfe still firing the large Hand Cannon, however now also wielding a Vestian Dynasty in his off hand.

"Oh come on, don't be like that!" Phoenix, the Warlock laughed in response. Poking her body out from behind cover, she leveled the Bad Juju and began firing at the closest Dregs. "You know you love us."

"Don't fool yourselves." Emerald spat coldly at the new arrivals and ran back to join the fight.

"Lighten up Emy." The Awoken Hunter, Junko, called as she raised the MIDA Multitool and popped off several quick shots, heavily damaging the shield of the Baron.

"Ignore her. She is merely proud." Cinder called as she broke into a run, pulling a sinister pump action purple shotgun from her back. Cocking it, she jumped at the Baron.

"Pride goeth before a fall." Wolfe muttered, not loud enough for anyone to hear except Cinder, who paid him no mind. As he turned to watch her, he realized her mistake. The Baron turned and leveled his launcher at the approaching female and fired a quick volley, catching her mid flight and ripping through her armor and into her flesh beneath. Uttering a sharp cry of pain that changed rapidly into a death gurgle, Cinder fell to the ground and lay lifeless. Both Wolfe and Baldr cried out in alarm and made to rush to the floating Ghost over her body. However, Wolfe was stopped by Phoenix and Baldr was blocked by Mercury.

"She isn't truly dead. You surely know that the magic of the Ghost is to bring us back from beyond the edge of understanding." Phoenix urged Wolfe who stopped and listened.

"We need to stop the Baron. I have an idea, then we can get Cinder back." Mercury drug Baldr back and talked urgently to him. "I need you to summon that power you had before and Blink. It means you can rip a hole through our dimension and appear several meters in the direction you were moving. We can tweak this slightly and you can carry me to a great height and allow me to launch my attack. We get enough height and momentum and we could squash the alien like the bug he is." Baldr nodded slowly and focused to draw the power within him. He could feel it boiling inside him like a pot of hot water. Opening his eyes he looked down at Mercury and nodded. He leapt onto Mercury's shoulders and Mercury jumped skyward, activating his catapult and rocketing the two upward. As the power began to fizzle out, Mercury shouted. "Now!"

Baldr then made a ripping motion with his knife, now glowing bright purple, creating a hole that sucked the two of them through. The hole disappeared immediately after the two reemerged and Mercury let go of Baldr's legs. Summoning his own power, Mercury's right foot glowed a bright electric blue and he plummeted toward the Earth.

"Titanfall motherfucker!" Mercury hollered with glee as his foot connected with the skull of the Fallen Baron. As its head caved in, purple blood spurt from the skull and the rest of the body as Mercury literally squashed the creature into the dirt. Tucking into a forward roll, Mercury splashed through the remains of the Baron before coming to his feet, arms spread like a great and noble warrior returning victorious from a deadly quest.

Behind Mercury, a burst of fire sprang into existence above where Cinder's corpse had just lay and rapidly manifested into Cinder's form. Cinder walked forward, flames licking her robes and causing the bloodied ground to spread with fire. As everyone got hurriedly away from the pile of Fallen bodies, the pyre quickly consumed the cadavers and burned bright green.

"Let's go. The smell will soon be getting unbearable." Cinder spoke as the flames died from her slender figure, smiling at the limp jaws of the new borns. "Like a phoenix born from the ashes." Cinder walked from the edge of the funeral pyre to Fireteam Coalition, stopping before them. "Thank you for answering the call. I understand that you see us as equals in this fight, while many other Guardians only see us as a means to an end if they make the choice to talk with us." She turned then to the hulking Titan in dark green with a golden yellow visor and addressed him. "Thank you as well John. I know we can always count upon you in our fight against the Fallen and Hive."

"I am glad to be of service. If I may, I would like to accompany you to the Vestian Outpost. I have business with Master Ives." The Titan's low voice held a slight metallic click behind it, indicating his Exo nature but very little else.

"Of course. I do owe you a favor, and I can provide you with fuel for your ship aboard the Comet, as you other Guardians are so fond of calling it." Cinder's lips tugged upward slightly as she bowed her head to the Titan towering over her. "Let's pick up our toys guys. Time to head home." Turning now to the new Corsairs, she approached them. "Once aboard the ship, you will be shown to your quarters but then I do insist you accompany us to the lounge so you may better understand our allies. While I do warn you that their Ghosts are not as accepting as they are, they are none the less friendly."

"With all due respect ma'am, am I allowed to walk again?" Baldr had slid the helmet from his face to grin at Cinder. As she merely rolled her eyes, Baldr hopped from his steed and approached the Cathedral, examining the heavy wooden doors.

"Also, take the time to meet your new Grimm allies. As creatures born of Shadows, we must understand that they are not from the same Light as we are, but they are not breed from true fear and Darkness. If you are wondering as to why we are not killing each other right now, I know someone that can explain that a bit better." Cinder announced once again before turning to return to her approaching strike ship.

Wolfe and Baldr looked at each other before turning to their respective Grimm. Wolfe looked over the Dovah and meet eyes with the fierce creature. The creature was obviously dragon, with black scales, thick black leathery wings with the white bone along the front, and blood red spikes around its skull and down the ridge of its spine. While the creature was large enough to carry him with little effort, the dragon was not gigantic, instead appearing the same rough size of the old biplanes before he became an Exo. Holding out his right hand, Wolfe slowly approached the Dovah, which extended it's neck and meet the hand with its nose. Instantly, Wolfe could feel the power of the creature surge through his mind: the hatred of the invading hordes, the intense hunger to feast, the fierce pleasure of a hearty battle.

" _I am pleased to find another as rare as I._ " The Grimm's thick gravely voice reverberated in Wolfe's head and he looked again at the eyes of the Dovah. " _Being one of a kind is as much a joyous feeling as it is a curse._ " Wolfe nodded slowly.

"We shall have to discuss this more when given the chance." Wolfe spoke aloud to the creature, who nodded in response. "Would it be inappropriate to ask your name?" The Dovah shook its head.

" _My name is impossible to say in your language. If you wish, you may instead provide me with a name you deem appropriate._ " Wolfe considered for a moment before the name appeared in his mind.

"How about Daemon? In my language it is an old name for a demon, which you do appear as. Not to mention you bring a hellish amount of destruction to a battle, befitting even old Lucifer's glory." The dragon considered the decision briefly before nodding.

" _Daemon I shall be then. It would appear your comrade is having trouble with these doors._ " Daemon nodded his head toward Baldr who was hacking at the door with a small hunting knife. Aiming his mouth at the other door, Daemon summoned a small fireball that blew the door open with enough force to knock both bipeds to the floor. " _Let's see what's inside shall we?_ "

"Thank you!" Baldr jumped to his feet and brushed himself off. "Oh and Wolfe, this here is Hesperos." Indicating the horned Pegasus at his side. Both Wolfe and the horse exchanged an acknowledging nod and stepped through the hole to gaze at the interior of the building. Tall pillars of marble laced with multicolored dust particles grew from the ground to branch out and create a high arched ceiling. The marble floor was littered with various wreckage from the splintered pews and other loot from the town. A large hole opened before the altar with well worn paths leading into a tunnel subsystem that they assumed ran through the entire town. Piled upon and around the altar were numerous valuables the Fallen had managed to horde. Baldr eagerly jumped over the pit and began rummaging through the treasure.

"Fucking treasure trove in here!" Reaching to his right, he seized a small wooden chest with a heavy iron lock. Pulling his knife back out, Baldr slid the point of the blade in the lock and twisted sharply, managing to turn all the pins enough to pick the lock. "Hell yes!" Inside the small chest were a collection of precious gems including rubies, sapphires, and two large diamonds roughly the size of large quail eggs. "It's like the holidays. Wolfe come get something!"

Wolfe however, stood holding an old gramophone with a gold inlaid horn and silver plated base. Setting it gingerly to the side, he held up a set of onyx bookends in the shapes of the mythical gryphons with one paw resting upon a large pearl. Looking back down at the pile of loot before him, he saw a beautiful mother of pearl necklace that he pocketed. "I've got some stuff of my own Baldr." Looking up at his partner, he saw Baldr seize a large golden crown with several blank spots where the jewels had been pried off. Shrugging, Baldr placed the crown on his head and struck a dramatic pose, holding a calvary saber skyward with his feet resting upon the chest he grabbed earlier.

"Prepare peasants! Your new king has arrived." Baldr sheathed the saber and hefted the chest, along with another into his arms and turned to the doubled up form of Wolfe, laughing at the sight of the Hunter with his few riches. "Oh come now my dear fellow! We shall have riches galore before this one has had enough!" Baldr turned on his heel and strutted out of the hall and back to the door. Rising to his feet and grabbing his own pieces: the bookends, the gramophone, and an intricate globe of Remnant, Wolfe jogged to catch up with Baldr.

"But my liege! I would suggest caution as we still know very little about this time and place. What would thoust do if he were to encounter the Black Knight or stumble upon the infamous Bridge of Death?" Wolfe caught up and did a mocking bow to the back of Baldr. "Should thou answer the Bridgekeeper wrongly, thou are to be cast into the pit of eternal peril!"

"Then let me hope you shall be there to whisper the proper answer in the ear of your King!" Baldr pronounced as he stepped into the sun. Wolfe scoffed and Baldr laughed again.

"About time you two showed back up." Cinder scolded slightly as the air kicked up around her, causing her robes to whip violently around her head. Raising their heads, Wolfe and Baldr stared in wonder as a massive interplanetary cruiser filled the sky and came to a stop with a ramp extended to the rooftops of the nearby shops. "Welcome to the H.M.S. Adveniat Regnum. The Rogue's own personal home away from home, base of operations, and warship. Everything we own is brought here, and it has plenty of room for ships and also serves as cannon bulwark during interspace engagements with Fallen Galleons and Cabal Frigates." Cinder finished her introductory speech and began to climb up the crumble shop front to the ramp of the ship. Above the heads of the warriors, eight ships, one belonging to each fighter except Wolfe and Baldr, flew into a starboard hangar bay passing through a pale blue forcefield.

When Cinder reached the top of the ramp aboard her cruiser, she stood back to allow the rest to pass by her. Holding out her arm, she stopped the newest reincarnations and held them back. "I am taking you two to your new quarters. There you will familiarize yourself with the layout of the room and deposit your loot. Then you follow me to the lounge, where we will properly introduce you to our Guardian allies. Your Grimm allies are currently being shown to their own quarters as well. I do regret to inform you Wolfe that your partner will be largely unable to traverse the ship given his size." The spoke the last words with raised eyebrows to Wolfe who understood and nodded briefly. "Excellent. Now if you will follow me, Anafi is raising the ramp and we shall soon be breaking orbit."

As she led the duo down the closest hallway, the ramp sealed with a pressurized hiss behind them and the ship shuddered as the engines fired and they began to rise. Making a quick right followed immediately by the next left, Cinder brought the two to a bank of lifts. Pressing the button with her thumb she removed her gloves and slid them into the belt on her robe. Riding two floors up, the trio got off and set off down a brightly lit white washed corridor. She stopped beside two doors set into the left wall and punched in a master code. Both doors opened and the new borns peered in. Both rooms were identical, except that they mirrored each other, with plenty of room for the collection of artifacts to fill up the various shelves, ledges, and tables of the living quarters.

"Along the back wall, where there are no shelves, are port windows. The glass is able to polarize from transparent to opaque upon your own request and will only do so to your voice signature. The beds lie around the corners respectively and on the adjoining wall are monitors that allow for access to our ships systems, records, and personal logs. Please take a quick look around before deciding upon your number code and return to the lifts when you are finished." Cinder turned back the way they came and walked to the bank of lifts to wait for the two. Wolfe and Bladr hurriedly set their treasures inside and programmed their door codes before jogging back to the lifts.

"Ready ma'am." Baldr announced as the lift door opened and Cinder led the way inside. Pressing the button marked 'RR' the doors closed and the lift quickly descended. While they rode, a song began playing over the PA system.

 **[Rhapsody in Blue, George Gershwin]**

"It is customary to play this song when traveling to a new destination or when bringing new faces aboard." Cinder announced as the doors opened again and she led the way out into a spacious open air center with couches, fireplaces and even a bar. "This is the Lounge. This is where we entertain our guests, gather to eat, and rest and recuperate." Cinder walked down the nearby stairs to where the rest of the Corsairs were gathered with the four Guardians. John stood facing out the nearest window, watching the scenery rapidly change from the recognizable atmosphere to the dark beauty of space. Neo and Phoenix sat chatting animatedly, while Mercury and Diana talked close by. Junko sat observing the new comers with eery sky blue eyes and Emerald had taken a seat by herself and currently worked on cleaning her gun.

Everyone currently in the Lounge had their helmets off except for Emerald and John. The human Titan, Diana had light tan skin and short tousled brown hair which complimented her brown eyes. Phoenix, now revealed as an Exo, had a brushed silver faceplate, blue eyes and an orange light shown from her mouth when she talked to Neo. Junko raised her hands to her hood and swept it back revealing lilac skin, light purple hair and her striking blue eyes standing out from her face.

"Wolfe, Baldr, I would like you to meet Fireteam Coalition. These Guardians are the second most trusted Guardians of the Reef, after us Rogues, following the capture of the traitor Skolas. Diana is their Titan, Phoenix is the Warlock scholar of their posse and Junko is the quiet one there observing you. In our line of work, these warriors are some of the first you call from the Tower when you need back up. Junko, while not overly trusting, will be able to grant you audiences with the old Vanguards thanks to her father Zavala." As Cinder introduced the Fireteam, each gave some form of acknowledgement, Diana gave a friendly wave, Phoenix gave a loud exclamation, and Junko merely nodded. "The mystery man staring out the window is the infamous MC. John-117 has been around longer than most other Guardians and is focused almost exclusively on ridding our system of the Fallen and Hive."

"Greetings." John turned and nodded his head to the rest before approaching and taking a seat on the edge of a small fireplace. Wolfe and Baldr both acknowledged the rest before taking a seat with Cinder and John to talk. However, before they were given the chance to, a high-pitched chipper voice chimed in at Wolfe's elbow.

"And I am Anafi! Pilot of this vessel!" The voice announced excitedly, causing Wolfe to swear and jump forward, on edge. Turning back, he saw a small robot that looked as though it were a metal sphere that had split and sprouted a head and arms from within. The arms were held up in a show of joyous proclamation with her arrival. "It is so nice to meet new friends! Miss Cinder said you would come one day!"

"Yes I did Anafi. Thank you for scaring the poor guy." Cinder smiled almost innocently at the little robot that was now being inspected by Baldr.

"My god you are cute!" Baldr proclaimed. "You make me think of what I would want a little sister to be like." Baldr stopped himself and cocked his head to the side. "Well your attitude with an organic body and human shape."

"Thank you!" Anafi chirped happily up at the Hunter. "I must go now though. I will need to get clearance to the Outpost!" Anafi spun around and sped out from the group toward a small chute that lead straight upward, probably to the bridge. A few moments later, a small alarm sounded and everyone grabbed a piece of the ship. The ship gave a slight lurch and the windows became a viewing screen to a psychedelic twist of blue white colors.

"Hyperspace jump. By utilizing specific neutrinos found in Dust, we are able to traverse the distances in space about as fast as light travels. One of the greatest discoveries of the Golden Age of Remnant. Allowed passage to the other planets of our solar system in mere minutes. The only discovery greater, excluding the Traveler of course, was the discovery of the digital plane. That is what allows us to 'teleport' from one place to another and compress items to seeming indefinable masses." Cinder lectured to the the small group. John nodded silently, having heard this before. Baldr scratched at his chin, evidently bored and eager for something to do. Wolfe however, sat hunched over alternating looking at Cinder with scrutiny and the floor thinking hard, trying to remember the technology of his prime.

While the journey continued, the groups gradually fell silent as they ran out of things to talk about. The journey, according to Wolfe's calculations upon remembering where the Reef resided, was only destined to last about 18 minutes, but his head was so full he felt like it had been two minutes before he felt the lurch that signified the exit from hyperspace. As he rose from his seat to look out the window, he was taken aback. The Reef held an eery purple glow that seemed to come from gaseous clouds floating around the asteroids. The ship began slowing considerably as they came upon a much smaller seemingly abandoned ship. The ship came to a relative stop, floating next to a docking tube that was magnetically sealed to the ship preventing separation.

Cinder led the way through the docking tunnel through a set of large metal double doors guarded by Awoken females in skin tight jumpsuits with masks covering their face. Immediately, Phoenix ran ahead and to the right to where a tall Fallen leaning on a staff stood. Cinder held Baldr's arm and shook her head before he could reach for a gun to open fire.

"He is called Variks the Loyal for a reason. Phoenix is nuts about the Fallen. She spends almost every moment in the Reef with him. I think she is trying to become a Fallen herself." Cinder led the rest of the group, minus John who walked up to a bald Cryptarch in simple robes near Variks, over to a small bank of terminals and monitors all watched over by more guards and supervised by one unmasked Awoken carrying a small knife. The unmasked guard had an eye patch and a scarlet punk hair style with one side braided into a bun on the back of her head.

"Welcome back everyone." Petra announced at the approaching group. Cinder walked up to Petra and handed her a blood stained strip of a blue Wolf Banner snatched from Dremaksis's corpse before completely engulfed in flames. "One less Baron to worry about then. The payment will be taken care of an sent to your accounts immediately."

"Thank you Petra. Be sure to send equal shares to Fireteam Coalition, MC, and the two newest members of our merry band of outlaws." Cinder waved Wolfe and Baldr forward to meet Petra. Petra was slightly taken aback when looking at Baldr.

"You are a Venj right? One of the founders of the Venj noble family here in the Reef?" Baldr nodded slowly. "You were lost on Remnant for many many generations. Something like eight or nine I believe."

"Really?!" Baldr looked taken aback. "I guess I had been dead longer than I thought. We shall have to get together and discuss it over a drink something then." Petra nodded and handed off the Wolfe Banner to one assistant.

"Will that be everything Cinder?" Petra turned from the two and addressed Cinder once again. Cinder nodded curtly. "Alright then, I shall let you be on your way. Give the others my best. I am also announcing the Trial of Skolas later today. Fireteam Coalition will preside as judge, jury, and executioner as reward for their capture of the traitor."

"Will do Petra. And we will keep an eye out for the Trial." As Cinder led the Corsairs back through the doors they entered through, Wolfe watched Diana approach Petra and the two talked eagerly to one another. Junko appeared to shrug and walk off toward a couple simple robots standing near a terminal bank and engage one. "Just a quick rundown for you two." Cinder stopped at the entrance to the alcove containing the doors and pointed back. "Where Junko is will be your Postmaster and Tower Bounty handler. Variks, the Fallen Phoenix is talking to, is the warden for the Prison of Elders. The Prison was once simply a prison but has now become an arena for bloodsports here in the Reef under order of the Queen. John is talking to the Cryptarch, a representative of a collection of scholars who specialize in engrams of all sorts. The engrams function because of the digital plane but they can explain that to you later on." Cinder finished and walked back toward the ship beckoning the Corsairs to follow her.

"Does Diana have a thing for Petra?" Wolfe hustled to catch up to Cinder and questioned quietly, avoiding the inquisition of the rest of the Rogues.

"I think so, but I don't know if the feeling is shared. I would love to see Petra find someone. The exile really took a toll on her." Cinder replied quietly and the group passed silently back into the ship. Once aboard, Cinder led everyone to the bridge where they say Anafi rolling back and forth between a bank of terminals initiating detachment and firing up the engines. "Alright. We are headed home, Yuma Tower landing code 13.452.3. You three," she beckoned to the veteran Rogues, "know what that means. You two, however are about to find out. Grab a seat, and start learning the controls. When we start getting into proper battles with this, you have to know what you are doing.

Cinder climbed the dias in the center of the room to sit in a large egg like control chair. Along the arms of the throne were various buttons, displays and levers. Over Cinder's head were more switches and dials reading out everything crucial to the function of the ship. Wolfe took a seat immediately to her back right and started looking into the features of the broadside cannons. He also managed to work his way into the control system of one of the many forward cannons and took the time to spin the turret in every way he could and check the readouts. However, before he was able to discover too much more, the journey through hyperspace was over as the ship shuddered upon exiting into Remnant's atmosphere. Looking up, he saw something beautiful, intimidating, and welcoming at the same time.

Outside the bridge windows, the Rogues could see a large floating sphere. The sphere was a white in color with thin grey lines connecting in patterns all across the surface. At the southern point, several pieces of the sphere were missing showing strange architectural features of the object. While it was obviously a construct of some kind, it almost felt human enough to greet the newly re-reborn Guardians approaching. The ship was closing rapidly on the bay of what was the Last City, built upon the remains of old world Vale. Standing tall and proud in the water was a dark Tower of creeping red and black colors splashed with the brilliant deep orange of the sunset behind the craft. Along the column, running toward the water below was the title 'YUMA TOWER NO.13'. Several other banners and decorations ran along the railing proclaiming the place as a refuge for the tired masses looking for a better life in the Grimm Tower.

"Say hello to your new home."

 **AN:** So there it is. Chapter two. Wolfe will be the first "new" Stormcaller, and Baldr is the first "new" Nightstalker. Because I originally started this story without any reveals as to what the powers entailed, there will be a couple that may or may not appear in the game. Mercury is another example, as I focused his Fist of Havoc into a devastating stomp attack and his melees will be altered to include his kick based attacks.

Fireteam Coalition is the Fireteam of my beta reader and original coauthor. The Assassin's Mentor is his name and he has some great stories for you to check out. This story will include them a fair amount including a lot of original content we are dreaming up.

John-117 is an obvious easter egg to Halo and Master Chief. Other characters such as he will be appearing in the story from various other games but I will let you guys figure that out when you get there. Anafi, is based off Gortys from Tales from the Borderlands (and apparently BB-8) and the Adveniat Regnum, aka the Comet, is based on the Bebop from Cowboy Bebop as the idea of a ship helps considerably with the story in the future (so be prepared).

Thank you guys for reading! If you enjoyed go ahead and leave a fave or a follow. Have any questions that you would like answered, leave me a review or send me a PM.


	3. Island of Misfit Toys

**AN:** This chapter (the part I wrote) is mostly exposition for the base of operations for the Rogues for the rest of the story. The Trial of Skolas was written by my collaborator and that section provides the action and the majority of this chapter. There is more to be explained at the end of the chapter so enjoy the chapter!

* * *

 _Island of Misfit Toys_

Wolfe and Baldr both disembarked down the cruiser ramp onto the courtyard of the enormous Tower. Both vaguely remembered the old home of the Guardians, referred to as simply "The Tower" as being stark white and silver with banners emblazoned with the devices of all Guardian classes. Here, the color scheme consisted mostly of dark orange and midnight black with splashes of white and red in the black. The banners consisted of many various emblems and devices, most of them unknown to the newcomers. Occasionally they recognized an old emblem, such as the flaming hammer of the Sunbreakers or the white and black pattern emblazoned with the red falcon of the old Cloud Walkers.

"What is this place?" Wolfe inquired as he cast a curious eye over the gathering crowd of onlookers.

"This is a safe refuge for all those deemed unwanted." Cinder walked forward and gestured to the surrounding crowd. "These are victims of crimes perpetrated by people lesser than scum, for either personal pleasure or sick greed. Rape victims, people with unstable personalities deemed unsafe for a functioning society, or people simply down on their luck looking for a place to live and work in peace." Cinder led the newcomers through the crowd as the other Rogues dispersed talking with the crowd and sharing new battle stories. As the reborns walked through the crowd, they noticed helmets and armor and robes of Guardians intermixed with the group and stationed around the edge of the courtyard. "These are Guardians considered rogue, renegade, or damaging to the fabric of the Vanguard or Speaker's politics. Whether they harbor dark natures of death and hatred or merely posing a threat of dissension among the ranks of Guardians following the Vanguard and Speaker."

"So we do not consort with the Vanguard or the Speaker?" Baldr queried as the reached the edge of the courtyard and descended a flight of steps hidden to the right.

"I talked with your Ghosts. I do recall that neither of you were on particularly good terms with your Vanguard mentors while you were still young." Cinder stated plainly to which Wolfe shrugged. "Don't worry, I am sure your memories will return with due time. But in the meantime, I will show you our home and tell you how you will add to our collective society here." The group emerged from the staircase in a great Observatory, not unlike the Speaker's in the Tower far to their left. In the middle of the plaza was a great crater with a gyroscopic mechanism encompassing a small, blurry, hologram of a planet or moon or even the Traveler before them. "This is my Observatory, Wolfe I do expect you to come here and help me with my research and experimentation, Baldr you are more than welcome to assist if you wish."

"Egghead stuff isn't my strong suit." Baldr shrugged himself and the group continued through the plaza toward a small open air corridor.

"I figured as much." Cinder led the group into a much larger open air courtyard that was littered with bones of animals and skeletons Wolfe could only assume were Fallen and human both. Before them was a large collective of Grimm of various sizes and breed: King Taijitu were curled together in one corner, a pack of Beowolves closer on their right, Ursas fighting over the corpse before them, a pride of Nemeaus of varying sizes from house cat to a head shorter than Aslan. Behind the group, Aslan was leading the companion of Baldr into the living area and at the far end Daemon landed heavily just inside the railing. "This is the home of our Grimm companions. While they are not as hunted as they were before the Golden Age, many Guardians and remnants of our old civilization still kill them in sport. We as do a good many of the regular Guardians recognize these creatures as equals on the plains of battle and accept a mutually beneficial alliance against the invading hordes." Both nodded in awe of the collection of seemingly friendly Grimm before Cinder spoke up again. "Baldr I would require you to embark on regular patrols of the Southern Shore and out across the bay. These Grimm will be your primary companions however civilians and other Guardians will occasionally accompany you for various reasons." Baldr nodded.

Behind the group an enormous screen glowed with rich purple and a Golden logo of a sun with lines supposedly representing a crown of sorts. A familiar voice came over the sound system in the courtyard.

"Ladies and Gentlemen of the Reef, The Last City, and The Towers. I do bid you all good day and wish to inform you that shortly we will provide coverage for the Trial of the Traitor Kell Skolas of the House of Wolves. As you know Skolas escaped captivity some months ago and sought to combine the powers of Houses Winter, Devils, and Kings, under the Wolf Banner with the remnants of his own house to seek revenge on both the Reef and the City. Many Guardians answered our call of support to which we owe many thanks and one in particular for the capture of Skolas atop the Vex Citadel in the Ishtar Sink on Venus. We take you now to the holding cell of the Prison of Elders where Fireteam Coalition of the North Tower of the City awaits the trail." Petra's voice cut off as the screen shifted to a security cam footage showing the Fireteam from earlier sitting in a circle in the middle of the room checking their weaponry. Petra came back on to announce the Fireteam members before they entered the arena. "Leader of Fireteam Coalition, Diana of the Firebreak Order!" Diana stood up and waved to the camera and gave a long, deep bow. "Next, Hailing from the Order of Praxic Fire, Phoenix-7!" Phoenix gave a flourish of robes as she leapt to her feet and waved at the camera. "And of course, the ever mysteriously Junko, daughter of great Vanguard Mentor Commander Zavala!" Junko gave a small nod and wave from where she was seated. From here, Variks's sly hissing voice came over the speakers.

"Thank you Petra. Assss mentioned, thisss isss the Trail of Skolassss Kell of Kellssss. Let out combatantssss have a moment to prepare and we ssssshall sssend them to face him." Variks's voice drew out the "s" sound of every word he spoke and was accompanied by several clicks. Within the holding cell, the Fireteam had grouped together to prepare for their deathmatch.

"This should be fun." Cinder commented to Baldr and Wolfe as their Grimm companions drew up behind them, their blood red eyes affixed to the screen as well. "Bets from anyone?" Cinder called to the small crowd entering the courtyard to watch the bloodsport on the screen. Immediately Glimmer started changing hands as the spectators began placing bets on the outcome, the Trial's length, and the number of deaths the Guardians would suffer. Emerald, Mercury and Neo all entered the plaza and strode over to the other Rogues.

"My Hawkmoon on Skolas winning the Trial." Emerald stated plainly to Wolfe who considered his options. "And if I win, I get the first two exotic pieces of armor you find in your expeditions."

"Deal." Wolfe shook her hand. "I have a pretty good feeling that I will have a nice new gun of my own within the hour." Emerald smirked.

"Those Guardians may be powerful, but they don't stand a chance against any true threat to the Light. Did you know that Cinder was the one to destroy the Heart of the Black Garden and Mercury and I were with her when we destroyed Crota, Hive God?" Wolfe shook his head and Emerald smirked again. "Let this be a lesson, any Guardians who blindly follow the Vanguard and the Speaker are weak. We, who stand against the will of the few, are strong."

"Point taken." Wolfe acknowledged.

"Chest of gems that there are at least two Guardian deaths." Baldr leaned over to Cinder and Mercury, both of whom laughed. "If I win, I get a shotgun and a scout rifle. Of my choice." Mercury and Cinder exchanged amused looks.

"Both the chest and the crown you picked up to us that says there are no deaths on that Fireteam." Cinder stated. Baldr accepted and shook hands with both gamblers.

"You should know that that team is a powerhouse." Mercury stated with a smile on his face. "They spearheaded that hunt across three worlds, don't discount them so easily as Emerald does." Mercury smirked and sat in a seat pushed behind him by some of the surrounding civilians. Everyone in the plaza was focused on the screen now: Human, Faunus, Awoken, Exo, Guardian, and Grimm alike. Wolfe jumped up and glided to a seat between the shoulder blades of Daemon behind him to give him an elevated view of the screen and the fight that was about to ensue.

* * *

The three Guardians of Fireteam Coalition rested easy within the safe confines of the airlock that led into the Prison of Elders. It has been two weeks since their last arena match against the Cabal. As what Diana and many Titans call Space Turtles because of their faint resemblance as turtles and their slow but persistent advance towards their opposing front.

Junko had her helmet removed and placed beside her as she was sharpening her knife along a blade stone she acquired back from the perimeter of her prowling grounds of the Cosmodrome. Even though she was part of a fireteam, she would sometimes wander around the ruins of the old cosmodrome to think or take her mind off of things.

Phoenix meanwhile was looking at a small orb of Void Light floating in her right hand, her blue recitals staring right into the abyss of destruction while seated on the floor of the airlock. "Last fight in the prison seemed to be alright," She brought up to her team clenching her open palm into a fist, the Void Light surrounding her fist.

Diana laughed at her fellow Guardian and patted her on the back. "Val Aru'un wasn't that bad. He got what was coming to him. A Titan knuckle sandwich to the face," The Titan replied positively.

"That was after you got stomped to death from the Val himself," Junko quietly added in with her knife now being spun around between her fingers. "After I got your ass up, you got so pissed that you tackled him to the ground and started pummeling him in the face before the helmet was dented enough to almost show his face."

Diana chuckled nervously at the Hunter and sighed smiling. "Hey, he got what was coming to him. That was after you gave him a solar slug to the face with your Golden Gun."

Junko smiled at her leader continuing to sharpen her knife. "Hoshi and I estimated that he still had at least a quarter of his life left. Your pummelling did the rest."

Diana couldn't help but beam at the recognition she was given. "Aww thanks. But we all did well."

The Titan then grabbed her helmet from the ground and placed it over her head. "C'mon, you guys. Variks should be calling us to get ready soon. Ready up guys." Reaching behind her, Diana pulled up her Suros Regime and hefted it over her shoulder.

The Awoken Hunter sheathed her knife away and placed her Celestial Nighthawk helmet back on. She grasped her MIDA Multi-Tool and stood up pulling her hood over. "Rog."

The Exo hefted the Bad Juju in both hands. If anyone could see the look behind her helmet, she was grinning with glee. "Gladly."

The intercom soon rang out in the airlock catching the attention of Coalition. "Guardians, it is time. Be ready. This will be most eventful, yes?"

They all nodded and walked towards the door leading towards the Fallen Arena. "Be ready. Fallen of the Wolf Banner prepare for battle. They will try to kill you before you slay their Kell. Kill them back, Guardians," Variks told them with the door opening for them.

The Guardians nodded as they slowly strode through the corridor. Pieces of Fallen objects were scattered everywhere on the floor. "I guess this is the moment of truth then." Diana placed her hand on Junko's shoulder making the Hunter glance at her. "Make your old man proud, alright?"

"There's no doubt dad'll be overjoyed to hear the news of us," Junko replied, softly pulling the bolt of her rifle.

The Titan could feel the excitement literally radiating from the Voidwalker, shaking with glee. "A Kell... No one will believe us back home."

Their leader laughed, hefting the Suros into both hands. "Well, let's make this happen then."

The door before them soon opened to the Fallen Arena. It was fairly similar to the layout of the Cosmodrome with pieces of ruined ships buried in the sand. The faint purple hue of the Reef shone in giving an eerie look to it. And in front of them was a large dome with the House of Judgement's sigil adorned on it.

"The big guy is in there," Junko whispered softly, muscle instinct already tuning in with, MIDA already raised up to fire first.

"Then let's start this party. Variks? We're ready," Diana replied back, raising a hand into the air to hold her teammates back. Junko and Phoenix nodded and got ready to engage once she would give the order.

A deep sigh was heard through the intercom with hissing coming from dome. "You face Skolas, the Traitor Kell of the Wolves," Variks announced with spite in his voice.

The Guardians crouched slightly and prepared to move as the dome went down. Before them was the Fallen Kell they captured back on Venus. That was when he declared that his House would stand forever. After all, he did steal Vex technology from the machines themselves. Sadly for him, it wasn't enough.

Diana gritted her teeth seeing Skolas roaring at them with a Scorch Cannon hefted over his shoulders. "I agree with Petra. We should've ended him back on Venus. He was seconds away from getting my fist in his face," The Titan thought darkly.

Skolas began chittering and snarling in the Fallen language, pointing at the Fireateam before pointing up in rage. Phoenix herself began her own series of chittering at Skolas while he snarled back with a curt nod at them. Every sound that left the Voidwalker's mouth had her movement become slightly feral, almost to that of the Fallen themselves. "Phoenix? Translate," Junko asked the Warlock, already aiming at the Wolf Kell.

Phoenix scoffed with her gaze glaring at Skolas. "He called us Filth of the Traveler, and that we aren't worthy to be called Guardians of the City. Once he has dealt with us, he will personally rip the Queen in half."

"And you?" The Titan asked.

"I told him that he is not worthy to be Kell of Wolves, and that he is nothing but a worthless insect."

"Ouch."

Diana then clenched her hand into a fist and nodded. "Engage!" She shouted as they began to fire upon the Wolf Kell. But much to their dismay, only small dings, dents, and scratches peppered his armor and skin with each bullet landing on him. "Fucker! He's probably made outta plasteel platting anyway!"

Skolas began to laugh manically, firing shots of solar energy directly at them, hoping to land some hits on the Guardians.

"Move it!" Diana ordered and started running to the left. Her team obeyed her command and they ran together, Scorch Cannon rockets impacting near them as they sprinted to the left side of the arena. "Come one! We have to-Oh Shit!"

What surprised Junko and Phoenix was that Diana fell onto her back after what seems to be a faint glowing purple light floating in front of them. " What the hell is that?" Junko muttered aiming her gun at it.

"Must be a Stealth Servitor. To give ether to wounded Fallen," Phoenix answered her friend, looking in awe at the invisible machine. "Oh my gosh, I've never seen such a thing before!"

"Phoenix! Now's not the time to fangirl on me!" Diana shouted, snapping the Exo out of her state. The Titan pulled her Secret Handshake Shotgun from her back and shoved the barrel into the Servitor before squeezing the trigger. Pellets started flying within the machine in seconds, one shell after the other destroying the insides. The Servitor let out a loud shriek before exploding with ether escaping.

The Fireateam heard a loud yell from Skolas with some words appearing on the lower left of their vision. "Servitor bonds weakened?" Junko questioned "Hoshi can you explain this?".

They then heard a whoosh from behind them and turned around and shouted in shock. Phoenix jumped into Junko's arms with a startled squeak. "Traveler's mercy!" She shouted. The Wolf Kell was right there roaring.

Junko dropped Phoenix without a care and quickly went down on her knee and drew her Efridet's Spear sniper aiming square onto his head. The scope already had a fix on his head and she didn't hesitate to pull the trigger. The loud familiar crack filled Junko's ears with the round landing on his head.

Skolas shrieked in pain with his left arms reaching upwards and held his head where the bullet impacted. He snarled at them while aiming his Scorch Cannon at them. Junko's eyes closed and she raised her left arm up bracing herself for the explosion while Phoenix got up in front of her to shield her comrade, her own eyes closed.

But all they heard was a muffled sound and Skolas snarling in protest. They opened their eyes and they relaxed themselves. Diana was in front of them in a crouched position, hands outstretched to the side. Around them was a dome of Void Light as Scorch Cannon rods tried to penetrate through the barrier. Diana looked behind and nodded. "You guys alright?"

Phoenix stood up with a hand on her butt rubbing it. "Fine. But she dropped me right on my ass," She complained, grabbing Bad Juju from the ground.

"Sorry. But I saved both of our hides from being fried from the bastard!" Junko retorted, resuming her sights on the Wolf Kell's head.

Diana shook her head laughing. "Even when we're in the field, you guys always seem to argue," She mumbled, not in annoyance, but in humour. "But guys, I think of whatever we did, we managed to put a dent in Skolas. Phoenix? Can you provide insight?" The Titan asked whilst the Wolf Kell growled before he teleported away from them.

"Very well. Judging from that Servitor, it seemed to have some sort of bond with the Wolf Kell. Before it was destroyed, our weapons barely even damaged him. But the damage right now had impact," Phoenix explained keeping an eye on Skolas who just stood not far away with Wolves rallying beside him. "I suspect that he has more of those Servitors nearby."

"So if we break them."

"We break him."

Diana nodded and heard the whining of her shield indicating it would be going down soon. "Alright. Let's move it guys. Phoenix? You're on Servitor duty. Me and Junko will keep Skolas's attention on us."

"We will?" Junko mumbled with an eyebrow raised.

Before Diana could answer, the Ward of Dawn soon went down and shouts were heard with a blue line zipping past her face. "Yes! Now move!"

Phoenix was already on the move as she blinked off of the ledge they were on to search for any other Servitors in the area. Diana and Junko ran towards available cover and started to blind fire at the Wolves. "You know this is a pretty stupid idea, right?!" Junko shouted at the Titan, peering out from cover, blowing a head off a Vandal trying to pick them off.

"Better then no plan at all!" Diana shouted back. Standing up, she fired at the approaching Dregs who were charging right for them with Shock Knives and Pistols. Diana felt the recoil from each bullet fired from the Suros Regime fly out nailing their marks with ease. "How I love you, Suros."

"Guys! I got another one of those Servitors! Hit the traitor Kell!" Phoenix shouted in their connected comms as they heard a small explosion.

The Titan and Hunter nodded together and unloaded what they had on Skolas. Junko was firing as fast as her Efrideet's could fire, every three bullets hitting the Wolf Kell right in the face. Diana suppressed both Wolves and Kell alike. She concentrated her energy into her left hand. "Grenade out!" She relayed before throwing her hand forward. A small ball of Void Light came out of her hand and hurled itself towards Skolas. A grin formed behind her face when it landed on the Kell and stuck. "Three, two, one." The grenade exploded with a small vortex coming out and compressed upon Skolas.

"Heads up!" The two looked up to see the Voidwalker blinking upwards.

"She's insane," Junko commented as they saw Void Light glowing around the Exo's figure.

"She's our insane Warlock," Diana corrected for her.

Phoenix gather as much Light as she could into her right arm staring down at Skolas. "You will fall, Wolf Kell!" She screamed catching the attention of the Wolves. They all looked up to see her. Phoenix thrusted her arm forward. Void Light shone bright in her palm before it launched heading towards them. The orb soon impacted on Skolas making him recoil back. Some Wolves around their Kell were caught in the explosion and were disintegrated, fading away into the ether.

Skolas growled proceeding to slam his foot on the ground with a low sounding roar. He begun chanting in Eliksni with laughing accompanying him. "Phoenix? What is he doing?" Diana questioned still firing at the Wolves advancing on her and Junko's position.

"Give me a second... I shall taint your Light, Guardians. And you will choke on your precious Light- AHHHHHHH!" Phoenix screamed in pain.

Diana saw from her spot that she collapsed onto her hands and knees. A myriad of green lights started emitting from her. "Phoenix! Status, Phoenix!"

"It hurts... S-Skolas... Help..." Phoenix managed to whimper out trying her best to crawl towards cover from the Wolves she now attracted.

"Motherfucker," Diana growled herself before she vaulted over her cover rushing towards her teammate. "Stay where you are, Phoenix! I'm coming!" She shouted, tackling through the Wolves that tried to stop her.

"You're gonna get yourself killed, Diana," Junko whispered to herself before popping a Captain's head off.

Diana managed to get over to her suppressed teammate and created a new Ward of Dawn around them. "Phoenix! Phoenix look at me!"

Phoenix coughed loudly as she struggled to stand up, only able to get to her knees. "I'm... I'm fine... I can still fight, Diana. Skolas won't get away with it." She gripped on Bad Juju as tightly as she could.

"Get on your feet, Phoenix. I need you." Diana made to grab her hand to lift her up. But Phoenix waved her off shaking her head.

Phoenix noticed that the pain in her body rapidly growing and she knew she couldn't let Diana take this curse just yet. "Diana...not yet…" Phoenix's eyes shut off and she slumped to the ground, the tainting of her Light sapping the last of her energy.

"FUCK!" Diana started off swearing before groaning. Skolas, now that he had taken his first victim, recited the chant and it was Diana's turn to have her Light twisted. "Now I can see why it was a bitch to carry..."

Phoenix's Ghost, Wheatley appeared and began weaving her Light back together, although it was a very slow process. "I shall mend her soon enough, you must defeat the Kell before you are subjected to this horrible fate." Diana nodded and prepared to hunker down to provide her own Light for the resurrection process. Within a few seconds Phoenix stood back up resurrected like an phoenix from fire like her namesake.

"What did I miss?" Phoenix almost dropped the Titan and turned around to see Junko behind them. She now had her MIDA in hand ready to fire once the Ward goes down.

"Not important right now. Jun... How's Skolas doing?" Diana asked, panting hard from the poison coursing through her.

Junko took a quick look at the Wolf Kell who was only staring right at them. "He's not doing so hot either, Diana."

"Then... Fuck... Let's end him now..." Diana told them.

"How? You're in no condition to fight," Phoenix told her.

"Don't you guys remember? I'm a damn Titan... And we don't stop doing our job no matter what happens to us. We fight... And I'm a Guardian... And Guardians don't run..." Diana panted. She then grinned from behind her helmet and laughed softly. "Hey? You guys got your Supers again?"

"Had my shot for a long time. Been waiting for you to tell me when to use it," Junko replied.

"Nova Bomb is almost ready. My Light should hold."

Diana nodded as she stared at the Kell before them. "Junko? Hold my hand once you fire."

"What? And why would I do that here in all of the other places?" The Hunter questioned.

"Just do it once you do. I have a vague understanding of the stuff that was hurting Phoenix," The Titan told her.

"Whatever. Phoenix? Bomb?"

"In about twenty seconds."

"Shield's down in ten."

"Ready. My mark, you guys will fire," Diana muttered to them. Her chest began to feel heavy as the seconds passed on by.

"Shield down in five."

"Mark!"

Junko closed her eyes and breathed deeply. Her body soon started radiating heat from her and glowed a bright orange. She brought her hand up snapping her eyes widen open. A flaming sniper rifle appeared in her right hand and supported in her left. and she aimed it at Skolas. "Eat Solar, kuso yarō." She squeezed the trigger of the Golden Gun and a bullet, ripe with Solar Energy, flew out and impacted Skolas on the right arm. He screamed in pain while the Wolves started charging right for them now.

"Junko! Give me your hand!" Diana shouted at her as the Ward went down.

The Hunter groaned and ran over reaching her hand out. "I hope you know what you're doing- SHIT!"

Diana had an apologetic smile hidden behind her helm as she ran forward. "I'll explain later! I owe you one!" She kept her arms tight to her body tackling through the ranks of the Wolves once again. "Phoenix! Mark!"

"With pleasure!" The Exo gripped her right palm into a fist, allowing a whole lot more Void Light forming within. "Skolas... You shall be judged now!" Phoenix proclaimed and hurled her Nova Bomb. Unlike the last one, this one had a higher velocity, and made contact with him. Skolas growled from this and came back with a vengeance firing his Scorch Cannon at her. Phoenix took the full brunt of the rod and shouted as her body was disintegrated in the Solar Energy.

Diana felt her rage take over her going out into a full sprint to the Wolf Kell. "Fucker! I'm gonna kill you!" The Titan jumped into the air and used her Lift to propel herself up above him. She collected as much Void Energy as she could into her fist as she used the remainder of her Lift to rocket towards the Kell. "Eat this!"

Diana threw her fist forward when she neared Skolas. A deafening crack was heard through the Fallen Arena when the fist collided with Skolas's skull. The momentum behind her descent allowed her fist to created a large dent in his skull. When she landed on the ground, Diana rolled forward into a crouched position. A loud groan came from the Wolf Kell before he fell backwards beside the Titan. Ether smoked out from his eyes, leaking at a rapid rate. Diana stood up and walked over to him nodding. "I'll see you in hell." She then smashed her fist into his head again.

Skolas's roar echoed among the walls of the arena as his final lament. The blue light in his eyes faded away with the ether within escaping his body. Diana was panting heavily and fell backwards staring at the ceiling. "You have done it, Guardians. The Traitor Kell has been slain by your efforts."

With the death of Skolas, his remaining forces fled for the cells on the edge of the arena disappearing behind locked doors. The Light was corrected and Junko pushed herself off the floor and over to where Wheatley was diligently repairing Phoenix again. Without the dark power of Skolas hanging over the arena, the Light was powerful enough to allow Phoenix to stand once again in the land of the living. Brushing herself off she started to laugh at the body of Skolas and Diana coated in the purple sheen of the Eliksni blood.

* * *

Both Wolfe and Baldr were screaming their approval with the rest of the crowd except for Emerald who merely had a scowl. Mercury cat called at the monitor and Cinder clapped calmly but happily at the triumph that had been won in the blood bath. After the initial jubilation, some onlookers' smiles twisted as they remembered the bets they had unfortunately made. Wolfe held out a hand to Emerald while his other was curled into a fist and he coughed to announce that he was ready for his spoils. Emerald pulled two identical guns from thin air and tossed one to Wolfe.

"Don't let this win get to your head. I will win many many more times and you will owe me quite a bit." Emerald stalked from the courtyard down a new set of stairs undoubtedly to the quarters.

"Yeah! Two weapons of my choice!" Baldr's face held an ear-to-ear smile as he danced in front of the two elder Rogues. "I would like to examine the catalogue please." Cinder and Mercury both sighed heavily and produced their stores of shotguns and scout rifles. Selecting a solid and sturdy silver, yellow, and blue scout rifle from Cinder and a purple and gold accented shotgun from Mercury, he began to test the weights.

"The Boolean Gemini is a prototype weapon from the Queen's personal stores that allows you do empower yourself in one of two different ways and is customizable to your choosing." Cinder explained as Baldr started feeding the information to his Ghost, Freyja, so she may store it for him.

"That is the Queen's Benevolence. Outfitted with a fully automatic toggle switch, Arc Light pellet modifier, and unique Fallen ability suppression systems." Mercury explained somewhat sourly to his comrade. "Great for use against Fallen Captains and Vandals especially." Baldr nodded to both Rogues and thanked them for the bet. Both smirked as Emerald had done and waved him off.

* * *

"Sir, our scouts have reported that the Rogues have two new reborn Guardians accompany them into Grimm Tower shortly before the Trial of Skolas. It is unclear as to who they are yet as reports are still unconfirmed as to any new Ghosts discovering Light laden bodies." The man in armor reported to another who bent over the desk before him. The bent man simply nodded and waved the man away. A fist clenched on the schematic of the Traveler before him.

* * *

 **AN:** There we have it. The new chapter that took way too long to write. The Yuma Tower, or Grimm Tower, was a concept dreamt up by the inclusion of the Bannerfall map in Taken King and the realization that I would need a base close to the Traveler for the Ghosts' sake. Much more of the Tower will be explored in the upcoming chapters as more of the usefulness is discovered. The Tower itself sits in the bay of Vale (which is the site of the Last City with The Tower being built atop Beacon) and served as port to fishing ships and refugees from across the seas.

The Grimm serve as tentative allies to all within the Last City and the Guardians (except for a small group called Traditionalists) against the invading hordes to their homeworld. This alliance stems from the idea that Grimm are born from Shadows, where the Light is unable to illuminate, rather than Darkness, where no Light can ever hope to reach. The Grimm can form a mental link with their allied Guardians through telepathy within the Ghosts, although some Grimm have evolved to learn the ability to speak with humans and Faunus. This is a concept I thought of while browsing through concept art with Guardians accompanied by tigers. These tigers eventually became the designs of the mask, emblems, Crucible accolades, and Old Guard armor. However I do hope they add the animal companions within the game when the game is able to allow it, could be a lot of fun and will open up ideas that will be shown here.

Thank you for reading! If you enjoyed and want updates on new chapters, please fave and follow. If you have any questions, concern, ideas, or similar please leave a review or PM me.

...God I sound like a YouTube channel...


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